1. Field of the Description
One of the reasons these display devices have become ubiquitous is the ease of changing content and/or messaging on the display quickly and effortlessly, which may equate to reduced costs, efficiencies in providing new and changing content, and up-to-date information. Further, the costs of LCDs and other display devices have continued to decrease over time while the size of such displays can range from very small screens to many square feet so that these devices are desirable and useful in many business models.
2. Relevant Background
In many settings, information and images are continuously being presented to viewers or people passing by a location. For example, shopping malls and airport terminals are filled with displays providing information and advertisements. Many of these displays are built up around conventional television monitors and displays such as liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma display devices. These displays have become a standard tool for advertisement, reprogrammable signage, information stations, and menu boards.
One of the reasons these display devices have become ubiquitous is the ease of changing content and/or messaging on the display quickly and effortlessly, which may equate to reduced costs, efficiencies in providing new and changing content, and up-to-date information. Further, the costs of LCDs and other display devices has continued to decrease over time while the size of such displays can range from very smalls screens to many square feet so that these devices are desirable and useful in many business models.
However, in many settings, the use of conventional displays such as an LCD is undesirable. For example, theme parks and other settings such as restaurants often would prefer not to use an LCD or similar device due to the conventional TV-based aesthetics. These settings may have taken considerable effort to provide a thematic decorative scene and simply placing an LCD or similar display would spoil the desired effect. For example, a television simply looks out of place in a colonial village or in a wizard's store front. Similarly, it would not be theme-appropriate to use an LCD as a menu board in a “wild west” restaurant or a renaissance fair booth.
Lightbox-type displays are an alternative to emissive displays such as LCDs that provide eye-catching graphics using slides or films that are backlit. The slides or films filter and diffuse the backlight as well as diffusively reflect ambient light. Typical backlighting is provided by white light produced by incandescent, fluorescent, LED or similar light source. Lightboxes are eye-catching in that they provide high definition graphics (e.g., higher definition than is practical in an LCD monitor) and rich illuminated colors. However, conventional lightboxes are static (in the case of single-slide models) or slow changing (in the case of multi-slide models) making them impractical for dynamically changing information displays.
Hence, there remains a need for displaying content that can readily be changed and updated, such as menu boards, advertisements, information signage, and the like, in a manner that is more theme-based and not simply in the form of a television monitor, a computer display screen, or other electronic display device. Further, there is a need for display devices and methods for displaying information that provide the rich, eye-catching graphic appeal of a lightbox type display but at the same time provide the ability to present dynamically changing information.